The Maryland Visitors Network is a guide for tourism, travel, lodging, real estate agencies and more, organized by topic, region, towns and geography in MARYLAND.

MARYLAND FUN FACTS

Origin of Name - The charter that Lord Baltimore received from King Charles I of England specified a name for the new colony. It was to be called Maryland to honor King Charles’ wife Queen Henrietta Maria (Queen Mary).

Nickname: Maryland is known as both the Old Line State and the Free State.
It is widely believed that General George Washington gave Maryland the nickname the "Old Line State" in reference to its regular line troops, the Maryland Line. The Maryland Line served in many battles and exhibited immense bravery during the Revolutionary War.
Maryland was dubbed the "Free State" by Hamilton Owens, editor of The Baltimore Sun newspaper. In 1923, the State of Maryland was denounced as a traitor by Georgia Congressman William D. Upshaw, who was a firm supporter of Prohibition, for refusing to pass a state act against the use of alcohol. Hamilton Owens, in response to this charge, wrote a less than serious editorial entitled "The Maryland Free State." He argued that Maryland should secede from the United States rather than prohibit the sale of alcohol. The nickname was popularized in this and subsequent editorials.

Highest Point: The highest point in Maryland is Hoye-Crest on Backbone Mountain at 3,360 feet above sea level. Lowest Point - The lowest point in Maryland is sea level at the Atlantic Ocean.

Geography Maryland is about 250 miles long and 90 miles wide with approximately 9,837 square miles of land area. The geographic center of Maryland is located in Prince George's County, 4.5 miles NW of Davidsonville. Maryland encompasses the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay is 195 miles long and has coast lines in both Maryland and Virginia. Its width varies from 3 to 20 miles. It is approximately 1,726 square miles. Maryland is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay, by Pennsylvania on the north, and a small piece of Virginia on the south. On the east, Maryland is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware. West Virginia and Virginia border Maryland on the west. Maryland covers 10,467 square miles, making it the 42nd largest of the 50 states.

Tree: The White Oak or the Wye Oak took root on a peninsula called "Chesopieoc" by the Indians. Today the oak is a part of the Wye Oak State Park in Talbot County. Its height is ninety-five feet with a horizontal spread of one hundred sixty-five feet. The trunk is more than twenty-one feet in circumference, and its age is estimated at well over four hundred years. It was designated the official tree of Maryland in 1941.

State Song - Maryland, My Maryland was written by James Ryder Randall in 1861 because he was outraged when Union troops marched through Baltimore. The song was adopted as the offical State Song in 1929.

State Insect: The Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly is the official arthropidic emblem of the State, designated in 1973.

State Flower : The Black-Eyed Susan has been the official State flower since 1918.

State Flag: The Maryland flag contains the family crest of the Calvert and Crossland families. Maryland was founded as an English colony in 1634 by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. The black and Gold designs belong to the Calvert family. The red and white design belongs to the Crossland family. The flag was adopted in 1904.

State Dog:The Chesapeake Bay Retriever was declared the official state dog in 1964. This dog is one of only several breeds actually developed in America. They are bred to recover waterfowl for hunters and excel in both field and obedience traits. They also work for drug enforcement agencies, search and rescue work and as avalanche and sled dogs.

State Fish:
The striped bass or rockfish was designated as the official State Fish in 1965.

State Crustacean - In 1989, the Maryland Blue Crab was designated as the official State Crustacean.

State Fossil Shell - The Ecphora quadricostata, an extinct snail was designated as the official Shell in 1984. It enhabited the Chesapeake Bay 5 to 12 million years ago and on of the shells was found in St. Mary's County in 1685.

State Dinosaur - Astrodon johnstoni was made the official dinosaur on October 1, 1998. It was the first identified dinosaur in Maryland and lived during the early Cretaceous period, between 130 million and 95 million years ago. It was the first sauropod (semiaquatic) dinosaur described in North America and in size, its height was more than thirty feet and length between fifty and sixty feet. Although its bones have been recovered from river deposits, it is believed that it did not spend much time in the water.

State Reptile - The official State Reptile is the Diamondback Terrapin and it is the mascot of the University of Maryland at College Park. In early times, the colonists along the Chesapeake Bay ate these turtles roasted whole in live coals. In the nineteenth century, many came to appreciate this common turtle as a gourmet food especially when prepared in a stew made with cream and sherry. The Chesapeake diamondbacks are predators who prefer to live in unpolluted salt waters. During the winter months they hibernate underwater in mud; and in the spring, emerge to mate and bask in the sun on marshy banks.

State Boat - The skipjack was designated the State Boat in 1985. These are the last working boats under sail in the U.S. and are used during the winter to dredge oysters from the floor of the Chesapeake Bay.

Mason-Dixon Line - Charles Mason and Jeremiah surveyed the Mason-Dixon Line in 1763 to determine the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1767 the Mason-Dixon Line was established as Maryland’s northern border.

Monopoly Fact -The B&O Railroad was incorporated in 1827 by Charles Carroll. Today the railroad is part of CSX. On the Monopoly board the B&O is between the red properties and the yellow Properties.